TAIPEI (UCAN): Taiwan has granted citizenship to two missionaries from the United States of America, Father Alan Doyle and Sister Mary Paul Watts, in recognition of their contribution to society.

“I am a genuine Taiwanese,” 80-year-old Father Doyle said on July 9 as he received his identity card.

Father Doyle has lived in Taiwan for 53 years and worked in the area of the preservation and development of the Hoklo language, often referred to as Taiwanese, during his more then half a century on the island.